


A Secret Revealed

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: (We Loved 'Till the End) Cap_Ironman Bingo 2016  (2) [5]
Category: Marvel Adventures: Avengers, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cap_Ironman Bingo, Identity Porn, M/M, Secret Identity, Stony Bingo, poor steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9215126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: Iron Man reached up, and Steve was confused for a moment before he realized that Iron Man was taking his helmet off.Steve quickly turned around. "What are you doing? I thought your identity was a secret!""Mine?" Iron Man asked. "I mean, yeah, to everyone who doesn't live here. The public doesn’t know my identity, but the team sure does.""I don't," Steve said."But I thought you said..." Iron Man mumbled. Without the robotic overtone... he recognized that voice. It was so similar to... Steve turned around quickly. Nothing could prepare him to see the face that stared back at him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Y5, Canon: Marvel Adventures  
> I don't know much about Marvel Adventures, I'm running off of the first few issues worth of knowledge, so as far as I know, the MA team is: Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Storm, Giant Girl, Spider-Man.  
> Direct follow-up to [Drunk Science (is the Best Science)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9182320)
> 
> Steve learns that secrets in his world aren't exactly secrets in other worlds.

 

            When Tony got sucked into the portal, Steve didn't even have to think twice before diving in after him. There was no way that he was going to let anything happen to his boyfriend, not if he could help it. The issue was that, upon throwing himself towards the swirling mass of lights, he didn't end up finding Tony. No, instead he found himself falling down, down, down through the air, able to see nothing more than blue as the water of what he guessed was the ocean rushed up to hit him right in the face.

            Blue was the last thing he saw before the world went black.

 

            Steve coughed up water as he felt his limp body getting pulled from the vastness of the ocean. How long had he been underwater? What had happened? Was there some sort of battle going on that caused him to get knocked under the waves?

            "I've got you, it'll be okay," a robotic voice murmured, and Steve let himself stay limp and relaxed. Iron Man had him, he'd be okay. He could see flashes of red and gold from the armored Avenger's suit. He'd been worried about his red-and-gold-clad friend. Tony had been sending him off on a lot of missions lately, though if the team needed him, he was always there. It was good to know that everything was fine...

            Wait, where was Tony? Steve tried to take deep breaths as he coughed up some more ocean water. He struggled in the armored Avenger's arms, trying to get him to put him down so that he could catch his breath and ask about his boyfriend.

            Iron Man descended through the air pretty quickly, placing him down into the grass. He coughed and took a couple deep breaths, rolling over so that he could face Iron Man. His eyes roamed across the familiar suit, a frown forming on his face. This wasn't Iron Man's armor—it was _similar_ , yes, very similar, but this armor didn't belong to his teammate.

            "Steve Rogers, I presume?" the man in the suit asked, and he nodded slowly. "I thought that looked like a portal. Sit tight, we need to just stop these DoomBots, then you're coming back to the mansion with us. Man, it seems like the multiverse is getting split every other week by now."

            Steve watched as Iron Man shot off into the sky, back over to where there were several other people that he guessed were the Avengers. The multiverse? This place obviously wasn't his own world. He recognized Iron Man, Captain America and the Hulk among the heroes that were fighting off the 'DoomBots,' but he didn't recognize anyone else. There was a _giant_ woman, a woman who was controlling the weather, a very angry-looking man with metal spikes coming out of his hands, and someone in a red and blue suit that appeared to have some sort of... webbing that he was using?

            Once he'd caught his breath and recovered from the fall—it was a height that normal people wouldn't have been waking up from, and while it hurt like hell, he healed quickly—Steve charged over to where the 'DoomBots' were, managing to take out quite a few before the battle died down.

            "Iron Man mentioned we had a visitor," this world's Captain America said as he walked up. He looked Steve up and down, probably noticing his stress. "Never been to another universe before?"

            He quickly shook his head, watching as this world's Avengers started to gather. It wasn't that they made him uncomfortable, because if they were Avengers that meant that they were superheroes, the good guys, but he didn't know any of them, really.

            "I was _wondering_ when we'd get another dimension-traveler," a peppy woman with brown hair said as she walked up to him. "So tell me, Steve, how's your world? We've seen and heard of some crazy worlds so far."

            "My, uh... my world isn't... all that crazy, really," he mumbled, straightening his shoulders, glancing around to see that yes, they all were staring at him, except the guy who had the metal spikes in his hands.

            "You do have Avengers, right?" the young man who had the webbing asked, sounding worried. He nodded to reassure the guy.

            "Yeah, I just... don't know most of you," he said, thankful when Iron Man pulled him off to the side.

            "I'll take him back to the mansion," Iron Man offered, not waiting for a response before he just picked Steve up and started flying him off into the sky. Partway through the flight Iron Man rearranged them so that he was able to hold onto the Avenger, and he would be able to use his hand repulsors to fly easier. It wasn't until they landed when Steve was able to see Iron Man's eyes—he had little slits in his mask, so Steve _could_ see those blue eyes of his. They were somehow familiar, but still... somehow foreign.

            "Was there anyone else with me?" Steve asked, the panic finally starting to set in. Where was Tony? He hadn't been fast enough to grab his boyfriend.

            "Nope," Iron Man replied. "The portal seemed unstable, so I'd guess if anyone else was caught in it, they'd be in another universe right now. Why, someone you wanted by your side?"

            "Tony Stark," he said, a small smile crossing his lips. "My boyfriend."

            "Glad to see some things stay the same," Iron Man chuckled, heading over towards the elevator. The Avengers must've been on their way. "So, it seems like you know me, and you know alternate-you... who else do you know?"

            "Bruce... the Hulk," Steve said. He still felt awkward, because this wasn't his teammate Iron Man, even though he... kind of was. "I don't know anyone else."

            "Well, Janet's the girl we call Giant-Girl, pretty self-explanatory. Ororo, we call her Storm, is the one who was manipulating the weather. Peter is Spider-Man and Logan is Wolverine... it should be easy to tell which one's which," Iron Man said. "You don't have _any_ of them? Who's on your team?"

            "Hawkeye... Clint," Steve said, surprised when he was met with a blank stare. "Black Widow, Natasha. Thor. None of them?"

            Iron Man shook his head. "I can keep an eye out for them, though. If they're good enough, we could make them Avengers here, too."

            "Excuse me, sirs." Steve jumped a little, turning around to see an elderly man standing there. "Captain Rogers has informed me on the situation. Welcome to our universe... Captain."

            "Well, since you didn't know most anyone else, this is Edwin Jarvis," Iron Man filled in, upon seeing his look of confusion. Iron Man reached up, and Steve was confused for a moment before he realized that Iron Man was taking his helmet off.

            Steve quickly turned around. "What are you doing? I thought your identity was a secret!"

            "Mine?" Iron Man asked. "I mean, yeah, to everyone who doesn't live here. The public doesn’t know my identity, but the team sure does."

            "I don't," Steve said.

            "But I thought you said..." Iron Man mumbled. Without the robotic overtone... he recognized that voice. It was so similar to... Steve turned around quickly. Nothing could prepare him to see the face that stared back at him. It was so familiar, yet still different enough not to let him panic. If brown eyes had been staring back at him, he wouldn't have been able to handle it. But seeing that this Tony Stark had blue eyes... it made it a little easier.

            "Tony?" Steve whispered. There was no way that Tony was Iron Man. He'd said that Iron Man was his bodyguard. He was supposed to stay out of trouble. Steve thought that he was safe, every time the Avengers went out into battle. He thought that Tony would always be fine when he got back every day.

            "Maybe I'm not Iron Man in your world?" the Stark in the suit suggested, shrugging.

            If Tony was Iron Man, that would explain why Iron Man always wanted to get back to the tower first... not so that he was able to get home, really. It was to make sure that he could keep his identity. It would also explain the bruises that Tony got sometimes—not from working in the lab, but from going into battle with the team.

            It made sense. If Tony was Iron Man in his world too, it _made sense_.

            He'd always known that Tony was a good man, and he'd seen the hero inside of Tony many times, including during their first date when he was trying to save people from the fire.

            "I don't know," Steve mumbled, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Stark. "I... I need to get home. I need to find Tony, and make sure he's okay, and—"

            "Whoa, calm down," Stark said, holding up his hands. "You've got me and Banner on your team, it won't be long before they find out how to start up the portal again. Give them some time. I don't know if we'll be able to send you back to your universe or not if we try, so we might as well wait to see if they're able to come for you or not. You're an alternate-Cap, you're always welcome here, even if your team is a bit weird."

            Steve nodded, though it was still strange looking at a face so similar to his own Tony's face... yet he was still wearing most of the armor. There was something that he needed to ask his boyfriend, though he might want to wait for the right moment. The instant he was home wasn't the right moment.

            "Okay, come on. You need to sit down, and I need to get this armor off," Stark sighed, and Steve settled down on the couch as the man removed the suit. Jarvis had informed them that he'd made some food, and to get to the dining room when the rest of the Avengers showed up.

            "I thought you said that you were dating the Tony Stark of your world," Stark said, returning to the room once his armor was gone.

            "I am... We've been dating for a couple weeks, and I knew that there were things that he wasn't telling me, because there are plenty of things that I haven't told him, but... I never would've guessed that it was something like _this_ ," Steve said. He trusted Tony—he trusted Iron Man. It wasn't like this was going to make him lose trust in the armored Avenger. Now he just knew that... instead of a stranger at his side—a stranger he trusted, yes—he now knew that it was the man he cared more about than any other person. It was the man he was in love with.

            God, that meant that each and every battle, there was a chance that he could lose Tony.

            "He probably has his reasons not to say anything to anyone," Stark said, though he looked worried at why Tony would be keeping that secret. "Probably shouldn't be too mad at him, right?"

            "I'm not mad," Steve said, because he wasn't. Keeping a secret wasn't going to make him furious at the man he loved.

            When the rest of the Avengers showed up, they dragged him over to the kitchen.

            "I know it was pretty strange... the first time I accidently ended up in another universe," the alternate-him said, patting his shoulder. He was standing nearby, watching as the Avengers attempted to help Jarvis with the last of the cooking. Steve wasn't sure if he should try to join in or not, but it was a little overwhelming because they were so much like his family, his team, and just seeing them made him miss his own team. He knew that fixing up a portal to come get him would take some time, and he should enjoy the time he had with this team.

            "At least the Avengers still exist here," Steve pointed out, and the Captain nodded.

            "I've seen places where they haven't... and I'm real thankful for the team I _do_ have," the Captain said. "I heard from Tony that you didn't know... who Iron Man was."

            "My Tony's always had... insecurities, but I never would've thought that he felt so poorly about himself to not tell anyone that he's Iron Man," Steve sighed. He leaned back against the doorway. "Seeing your team makes me miss my own. I'll have to keep an eye out for the alternate versions of your team, back in my own world, because Tony and Bruce are the only ones that are familiar."

            "They'll be here to get you. The way you made it sound, to _my_ Tony, was that you were trying to keep him from falling into an unstable portal, so he ended up somewhere else. It won't be long, you'll see," the Captain said. Steve was surprised by how comfortable he felt, talking with alternate-him or alternate-Tony. "And if it does take too long, I know that Tony will figure out a way to get you home. He _is_ a genius, after all."

            Steve chuckled when he watched whatever Stark had been trying to cook catch on fire, causing the man to leap backward in shock. Thankfully Jarvis was around to make sure that the kitchen didn't burn down. "Definitely a genius."

 

            "I'm staying up with you," Stark decided, jumping onto the couch.

            Steve decided to wait up, give his team a chance to get the portal open again so that he could get back to his own world. His double stayed up too, and they chatted about similarities and differences between their universes. The Captain also wanted to make sure that Steve wasn't thinking about just dumping his own Tony when he got back, and Steve assured him that he wasn't going to.

            "You can do that," Steve said, rolling his eyes and smiling when Stark laid out across both Captain Americas' laps. While Stark got comfortable, he finished up the drawing that he was working on. He wasn't surprised to find that his alternate had the same love for art that he did, so they decided to just sketch out their own teams, for the other universe. If he saw anyone in his own universe that was on this team, he'd definitely see about befriending them and making them Avengers.

            "Glad you don't have a problem with... this," the Captain chuckled, gesturing to the way that Stark was glancing between the two and smirking.

            "I wouldn't be surprised if my own Tony was doing the same," Steve said. "Though I have a feeling that he'd want to drag me into it, too, so... It almost feels like I'm home right now, but..." He glanced down at Stark with a sad smile. "You look different enough from my own Tony for me to not be able to ignore..."

            "Really? But you two look so similar..." Stark whined. "Please tell me he's still just as handsome as me."

            "Of course he is," Steve said. "I'd be surprised if there was a Tony Stark in some world who didn't share the same good looks."

            "Well, there was that one world that had a female me..." Stark said, and his Captain smirked. "She was pretty hot though, so I can't complain."

            Steve rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help but picture that version of the man he loved in his head. He froze, looking up from the picture that he was drawing, when Stark grabbed his arm. "Hmm?"

            Stark pointed over to part of the room. "Your team is coming for you."

            He followed the man's gesturing to see the way that the light seemed to bend differently in the middle of the room. The beginning of a portal, apparently. Steve lifted Stark's legs off of him, smiling a little upon hearing the man's protests. He put the sketchbook down the moment that the morphing light started shifting into a rainbow of colors.

            Steve barely had a chance to stand up before two people appeared from the rainbow colors of the portal. Tony ran over and attack-hugged him the moment that he laid eyes on the super-soldier. Clint, who'd had his bow strung and ready, lowered his weapon and hurried over.

            "You're okay," Tony murmured, and Steve held him close. God, he'd missed this man.

            "I knew you'd come for me," Steve whispered.

            "I promise, no more drunk portals," Clint said. "Or time machines, or any other crazy ideas we come up with. No more."

            "So, this must be Hawkeye," the Captain said, and Clint glanced over at the two alternates.

            "I don't exist here?" Clint gasped, and Steve wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

            "Sorry bud, but you're not on this team," Steve said. "You'll always be on my team, though."

            Steve noticed that his Tony was staring over at his alternate self, and he wondered if he knew what it was that Steve knew. Would he guess that Steve knew he was Iron Man?

            "Thanks for keeping an eye on him for me," Tony said, still clinging to Steve's arm like he might disappear. "But we need him back now."

            "You can have him," Stark said, smirking as he took his Steve's hand. "I've already got my Steve, thanks. And while more Steves might be _fun_ , I wouldn't want to mess up any of our universes."

            Tony gripped his hand tightly, and Steve smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead.

            "Thanks for pulling me out of the ocean," Steve said, leading his teammates over to the portal.

            "Anytime," Stark laughed, while Captain America raced over to grab his sketchbook, tearing off the page.

            "If you see any of them," the Captain said, handing him the sketch. "They're all great people, and I trust them with my life."

            Steve nodded. "The same with my team—I'm proud to have them at my side."

            He made sure to keep an arm around Tony's waist. Eventually his boyfriend would be able to tell him about being Iron Man, and he wanted Tony to know that he still trusted him. He threw his other arm around Clint's shoulders.

            "Let's go home," Steve murmured, glad to have his team around him. Perhaps one day he'd be able to talk with Tony about him being Iron Man, and about the trust that he'd never lose.

            "No more portals," Clint said, almost sadly. Steve couldn't help but smile—he loved that Tony and Clint were able to do things like drunk science together, but it was probably for the best that they made no more portals while they weren't in their right mind.

            If they _hadn't_ , though, Steve wasn't sure if he'd have learned of Tony's secret. So maybe it was a good thing that the portal had been created. Either way, Steve was just glad to know that the man he loved was the same man he trusted with his life on the battlefield. That made everything so much better for him.


End file.
